NIRVANA “Maybe. Knight was a senior, and Mac was just a freshman. Mac told me Knight was a manwhore in college. He was kinda famous on the campus, and girls like bad boys like him.” “How old was he when he lost his parents?” “Eighteen. He just started college. It was difficult for everyone. It was one of the darkest moments of our lives, but I was grateful he didn’t do drugs or impregnate someone. Instead—” “He trained himself and began fighting in a secret underground fight club.” “Yeah. He told you?” “Yes.” A knock on my door interrupted us. I got up and went to open the door. I froze for a moment before I could speak. “You’re still here.” “A deal is a deal, Nirvana.” He got in without an invitation. “Kailin, go to your room.” Kailin got up, smiling with a salute. “Aye, aye, captain.” “See you tomorrow, Vana. Night.” “Night.” I waited until Kailin shut the door closed. “Why are you here aside from collecting our deal?” “I’m staying here. Tomorrow, we go home to my house

KNIGHT Kailin laughed. “You two are so dumb. It’s her way of showing she’s into you and she cares. You should have seen her face when you were in that ring. Goddess, my best friend likes you a lot. Just don’t push her too hard.” “Good to know.” “Now go and find her before she runs too far.” “Thanks.” I got up from bed and used the bathroom. I put my clothes back on and got out of her room. Guys were already scattered in the living room. “Can I bring breakfast for you, alpha?” Roisin asked. “Maybe later. I have to find Nirvana.” “She’s probably in the vineyards. I saw her earlier. Thirty minutes ago.” “Thanks.” “I’ll look out for her if she goes out, alpha. With your permission, of course.” “That would be a great idea, Zander. Thanks.” “You’re welcome.” On foot, I went towards the vineyards but couldn’t catch her scent. Finding her on these ten thousand hectares of land was difficult without her phone and our pack link. I made my way toward the cabin. Maybe the guys had g

NIRVANA “Is that what you want?” “Yes. I will tell Luka to bring your things here.” “No. I don’t like someone touching my things, but I can go back and pack them, and then I need help carrying them into the car.” “All right.” “Can I avail one of your living rooms or entertainment room?” “To paint?” “No. I want to watch movies.” His smile was from ear to ear. “You can use one of the rooms as your studio. I’ll call someone to clean it up so you can put your things in there.” I sighed deeply. “I’m sorry.” “For what?” “For the troubles.” “I want you to feel at home. Let’s go and watch movies.” “I’m watching a sappy romantic movie. Would you join me?” “Whatever you want.” He opened the door to the entertainment room. “Choose what movie you want to watch. I’ll go make us some popcorn.” “Do you have sodas?” “I’ll bring some.” “Thanks.” I grabbed the remote and scrolled down some movies on the monitor. I chose a biopic movie and paused it when it started rolling. “What are w

KNIGHT “Don’t look at me like that. I just didn’t find the man I wanted to pop my cherry to,” she said sarcastically. “Well, I don’t care whether you’re a virgin or not as long as you want and are willing to sleep with me.” “Enough with sex talk,” Zarah said impatiently. “You have to decide now, and this is a one-way ticket, Nirvana, or you lose the gift.” “I changed my mind. I don’t want it anymore.” I took a deep breath to calm myself. “Nirvana, this is a gift—a special kind of gift.” Nirvana glared at me. “You call it special and a gift when I have to stay a virgin? And seeing people’s future is scary. I may be able to save lives, but this is not the gift I want. This is a curse. It doesn’t matter if I stay a virgin. At least I don’t have to know if or how someone will die. I don’t want this. Unless you don’t wanna sleep with me.” “Nirvana, it’s not a question if I want to sleep with you. I want to build a family with you, but I want you to make a wise decision.” “So what?

NIRVANA Unbelievable. Since I turned eighteen, I have been independent. The last thing I wanted was to be controlled or dictated by some ancient practices. And we shouldn’t be discussing my choices anymore. I hated it that we had to argue about it. I couldn’t believe we had to discuss my body, my choices, and my virginity when, from the very beginning, I didn’t want to be a part of this dangerous world. I didn’t want anything to do with the gift or to be a werewolf anymore. I wanted to live a normal life, to be with my family and the people I cared about, and to be with someone who accepted me and loved me for who I was. But not like this, where my choices were taken away from me. “I need some air.” I could be disrespectful if I wanted to. Don’t get me wrong, I had a huge respect for Knight and Zarah, but I felt like I could explode in anger any moment I heard an argument about my life decision. I walked out of the room, trying to process what Zarah had learned. I was still s